Second Chance: live
by Hiasobi
Summary: When the time came, Fujiwara no Sai hadn't wanted to leave.
1. Chapter 1

**Second Chance (live)**

Sai is cold.

Cold, not in the sense of temperature but cold in the sense of emotion. He feels hollow, all too often these passing times and the goban, which he inhibits, is silent. There are no stones being gently placed on the lines, nor were they fiercely set onto the kaya with the will to fight. The days are dark and the nights are silent.

Days, months, years pass by in the blended continuity of his non-existence.

Being a ghost is so lonely. And sad: because he has no one to talk to, too many of his memories to think back on, and numerous regrets. He waits _(days, weeks, years, centuries)_ because he knows, someday, someone will come. He just needs to hold on until then.

Torajiro was like a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale place. He saw him - saw Sai - saw his brilliance and they had a warm, comforting partnership where they both benefited. They created a new name for themselves, Honinbou Shuusaku, and it was Sai's proof of his existence. His moves on the Goban shouting _I am here!_

But Hikaru, aptly name, was the light in the darkness: the end of the tunnel, the chance for a legacy _(legacy - not legend)_, and the price of immortality.

Torajiro existed for him - Hikaru _lived_. Torajiro saw his brilliance, saw his powers, and allowed Sai to affirm his existence through his games. Hikaru saw him, and fought him, and challenged him, and questioned him, learned from him, and understood him. Torajiro slowly let himself be cocooned in the being that was Sai, and allowed him to leave his legend in the name Shuusaku. Hikaru provoked, defied, and forced Sai to _move_ and _change_ and remember that _there is always more to learn._ To _live._

Life in death.

What an ironic concept.

After a lifetime of the stiff formalities of the Court, and another lifetime of the polite manners of Torajiro's time, Hikaru is brash, rude, uncultured, brimming with energy, _free._

Freedom. And Life.

In Death.

The chance to experience all that he had never experienced before, the opportunity to see and marvel at things he would never understand, the prospect of taking another step closer to the Hand of God.

The price was too high. In the moment when the sand at last falls again from the last of the hourglass, Fujiwara no Sai doesn't want to leave. Even if it meant another eternity waiting in the silent goban, as long as Hikaru was waiting for him at the end, he would endure.

Because Hikaru is the best thing that has ever happened to Sai, and he would never regret it, even if he have had to die for it.

**_. : Better never to have met you in my dream than to wake and reach for hands that are not there : ._**


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Second Chance (live)  
**Summery:** When the time came, Fujiwara no Sai hadn't wanted to leave.  
**Rating:** PG13

* * *

Shindou Hikaru walked out of the Go Association building and yawned. The sky was a clear blue with soft fluffy clouds floating in the sky of a late spring day. The wind was cool and he scratched at his shoulder through his yellow and orange t-shirt with the number '5' boldly imprinted on the front, back, and sleeves.

" Shindou!"

He turned at the call and saw Waya walking out of the glass doors accompanied by Isumi.

" Yo Waya!" He replied happily.

" Finished your game for today?" Isumi asked politely as the ycame to a stop several feet in front of him.

" Yup, I won!" He gave them a big grin.

" You're getting cocky!" Waya cried, before looping one arm over the younger boy's shoulders, pulling him down, and ruffling his hair.

" Hey! Get off!" He shouted in friendly outrage. " Isumi! Tell him to stop!"

Isumi shook his head despairingly in amusement and exasperation after several moments. " Waya, let Shindou go." He finally said.

Waya sulked, but gave one last hard shuffle, and let go. Immediately Hikaru reached up to settle the wayward bangs and Waya retreated laughingly to Isumi's side for protection. Isumi rolled his eyes at their long time antics.

Hikaru scowled. " I'll get you back!"

" You can try, Shindou!"

Isumi placed a calming hand on both their shoulders to stop the predicable, common, escalating brawl, "We're going to get some lunch. You want to come?" The older boy asked the bleached blonde haired boy.

He shook his head. He had somewhere to be in the afternoon. He wasn't in the mood for company.

" Ah, we'll be going now." Isumi said to him and turned to go.

" Wait, what? Isumi!" Waya protested but Isumi pushed him from the back.

" We'll talk later, Shindou." Isumi said politely and smiling, nodded in farewell to them both.

" You can bet on that, Shindou!" Waya said wicked over his shoulder as Isumi hulled him away.

Hikaru waved laughingly.

" Hikaru?" A voice from a small distance to the left called.

He turned.

" Hikaru!"

A fairly tall, slim, fashionably dressed, beautiful girl with long wavy dark hair ran towards him. She was dressed in a pair of close fitted jeans, a beige top with small ruffles in the front, functional black heels, and a small colourful handbag.

" HIKARU!" The girl cried out before she jumped and wound her arms around the confused boy's neck.

The two of them fell crashing to the ground. Hikaru grunted at the impact but the girl was not hurt at all as she lay on top of the young Go player.

" Maria?" Hikaru said amazed, after he had a good look at her and got over the shock.

The girl beamed down at him.

" Shouldn't you be in Italy?" He asked, which was perfectly normal because she lived in Italy, so should be in Italy, and not in Japan, randomly causing him pain in way of greeting.

" I came to visit." She bubbled. She jumped off him and extended a hand. Her blue-grey eyes were bright with joy as she pulled him up.

All he could do was blink at her.

"I came to visit!" she said again, " from Italy! Surprise!" She whirled around like she was presenting herself as a prize. " Happy?"

He rolled his eyes and then laughed. " Of course!" He opened his arms. " I haven't seen you for 5 years since you moved."

This time he was ready for her as she hurled herself at him. She wrapped her small arms around his neck and pushed her face into the heat of his shoulder. She closed her eyes in contentment as warmth started from her heart and spread out through her body. She had missed him too.

They stood in silence for a while soaking in the moment before their hyperactivity got to them both. He gave her one last final squeeze and let her go.

" So when did you get here? And when do you leave?" Hikaru asked teasing.

She laughed, in delight. " I don't know, I told my parents I was going to take a vacation and visit Japan. I'll see about leaving when I have to leave."

He rolled his eyes; only she would be able to do that. Her family had spoiled her rotten since she was a child. But he was curious, they had went to the same elementary school together, had been great friends during that time, but when she had moved out of the country they had drifted a part and stayed in touched through emails once every few months but nothing had indicated she would visit the last time she wrote him.

" Why are you here?" He asked as clueless as always.

She punched him in the arm. " You'd think you weren't happy to see me!" She cried, acting tears.

" Of course I'm happy!" he replied, pretending to nurse a great injury from her soft punch. " But I also want to know why! And, if you're going to treat me to ramen while you talk." He added mischievously.

This time she rolled her eyes, but in amusement. " Only you. You're still stuck on that junk noodle?"

" It's not a junk noodle!" He defended. " It's good."

" Yeah, yeah," she said, waving her hand in the air dismissively. She had known him too long for the same arguments.

" So?" He pressed. " Are going to eat ramen or what?"

" Alright, alight!" she surrendered, " and I'll even treat you."

He beamed.

" And you can tell me about why you suddenly choose to do Go all of a sudden."

His face dimmed, just minutely, and softened. The brightness was there, but this time it was more focussed. His eyes also seemed to look past the present to something else, and his smile was very gentle.

She watched him with all her impressive observation skills and knew, knew there was a story that meant a lot to him, had changed him, and that she might never knew the whole of. But that was all right, as long as he was not hurt.

" What are you doing in Japan?" Hikaru asked, this time with more interest.

" Just this and that. Visiting my friends." She replied.

" So you'll have time to spend with me? Does Akari know you're here? Want me to call her?"

She shrugged indifferently at the last question. She had never been Fujisaki's friend. She had seen Fujisaki as an acquaintance of Hikaru's, but that was it. She was Hikaru's friend, and Akari had been Hikaru's friend, so therefore she was friendly to Akari. But there had been no true deep friendship between the two girls, when she had left the country; she had not bothered to stay in touch with the other girl.

" Yes I have time to spend with you." She said smiling.

And it was at that moment that it struck Hikaru that five years had passed. That the Maria he had seen in his mind when she had first jumped on him, was so differently than this striking, slim, softly curved girl in front of him. Her hair was long, flowing past her shoulders to her hips, blowing freely in the gentle wind. Her skin a pale white, paler than the Japanese skin. A few strands detached from the large body of hair and floated in the air, reminding him of someone else whose long shining strands had been just as dark and long, longer even, but straight and not wavy. Even her white pearl earrings seemed red in the light as he reached out to grasp at the wayward lock of hair.

" Hikaru?"

He wounded the thin filaments through his fingers; the smoothness and beautiful shine brought a returning ache to his heart. It was as soft as he remembered it, encasing him, floating about him, sliding around his skin as the older Go player hugged, glomped, and glided next to him.

" Hikaru." Her hand was warm and tender as it closed around his finger, tangling up her hair in knots through the spaces. Her gaze was gentle, almost understanding.

"Ack!" he said and jerked reflexively.

She winced as the hair pulled at her scalp before he managed to loose his hand from the strands.

" Ah, sorry." He said, rubbing the back of his head. " It's just..."

_The month of May_

" It's just..."

_The fifth of May_

" It's just..."

_Been another year_

" It's just..."

He needed to be leaving for Hiroshima soon. That was why he had put everything into ending the game early today. He needed to catch a train before it got too late. He grinned goofily at her.

" I was distracted. I haven't had lunch yet, you know! You can't expect me to focus correctly without food first." He complained.

She rolled her eyes again. " Yes, yes. We'll go get ramen, my treat."

He beamed. He could put off the traveling for another hour for free ramen.

" But before that," she said, turning on her megawatt smile, grabbing his arm to pull him along the road, " you'll never guess!"

" What?" he said warily. He remembered she was usually this happy in one of two ways: she had a really well thought out surprise for someone that they would love, or she had given into her manipulation instincts and whomever had better run for their lives or get wrapped up in her diabolical plans.

" Hikaru, Hikaru!" she said bouncing in her steps, bubbling over with excitement. This was usually a really good sign, or a really bad one.

Hikaru resigned himself to his fate, consoled himself that there would be free ramen at the end of the road. He perked, free ramen. It couldn't be that bad. Even if he had to suffer through the girl talk to catching up of five years. He could always tune her out.

" Out with it Maria." He said as they approached the end of the side gardens lining the walkway of the Go Association and almost onto the street.

She hummed a melody in obvious delight. Another good sign, he noted wryly, or a bad one. His stomach rumbled. He pouted; he hoped they got to the ramen soon.

" Hikaru, Hikaru." She sang and let go of his arm to twirl in a full circle. She giggled at his exasperated face when she stopped. " I found you a certified Go playing amnesic friend!"

He goggled at her. " What?!"

" From Italy!" She beamed then grumbled. " Or it would seemed like he was amnesic anyways, I had to explain to him every pop culture reference out there."

He coughed, but he felt for her. The Go world was considerably old-fashioned and didn't seem to keep with the times either. He found himself receiving weird looks or having to give a lot of repetitive explanations every time he referred to anything pop culture.

" What makes you think I need an" he screwed up his face, " amnesic Italian friend?"

" But he plays Go!" She whined. " And really good too, or so the people I hired to test him out said anyways." She pouted at him when he looked off to the side and seemed to ignore her. " And he speaks Japanese. Just really badly. He's getting better though."

He groaned. " Maria, thanks, but I don't think you understand. I am a Go _pro_. That means it's my _profession_ and that I work with lots of people who can play good Go. And I get _paid_ to play those people."

" But the doctors said that exposing him to what he's familiar with will help him!"

He stared at her. " What! You mean I'm just going to be free therapy?" He cried.

She laughed. " I'll pay you, whatever you get from that place that pays you. Is it the Government that supports you? Or some kind of business?"

Hikaru opened his mouth, and then closed it. A speculative crossed his face. " I don't really know."

" Geez," she said, " only you were be so into the profession and still not know who you're employer is."

He shrugged. " I play Go. That's all that matters." A dark, intense look entered his eyes and she felt a shiver go down her spine. Slowly a smile, different from the others, deep and meaningful, spread across her lips as she stared back at him.

" So what do you say?" She said waiting.

" Lady Maria!" They both turned to see an older man, around the age of mid twenties to thirties, in a black formal suit and sunglasses turn the corner towards them.

He was tall, six feet or so, slim but Hikaru fully expected it to be almost all muscle and he gave off an impressive dignity in the suit. His hair was black, and if anything, he would guess the eyes behind the sunglasses were a bright blue. Almardo had been Maria's bodyguard and man-in-command since they were young.

" Yo, Almardo!" Hikaru said.

The man stopped. Stared at him for a moment before the shoulders dropped in what could only be resignation. " Shindou-kun." He said stiffly. " I had hoped we would spend a day or two before she found you and started to cause trouble again."

Hikaru smiled cheekily. When they were younger, the group Maria and Hikaru were part of got into trouble regularly, and goading each other to take the extra length. Almardo, the poor man, had always seemed to be caught in their worse scraps.

The older man's smile turned wry, but then warm. " It has been a while, Shindou-kun. We have missed the sunny climate of Japan."

Maria jabbed Almardo on the chest with a manicured fingernail. " Just admit you missed the mess we used to make together. It was fun!"

" Fun." The bodyguard said flatly, " Was that the word for it?"

Maria had gotten into a fight with all the girls in their grade. Hikaru hanging off the rooftop of the school. Another friend locked in the police station overnight. At one time, all of them together, had accidentally started, escalated, and subdued a local gang war. Once they slept overnight at the school without being able to inform their parents as they were stuck in a thunderstorm.

Almardo had lived through shock, amusement, and heart attacks in turns those days ago.

Hikaru snickered.

" Now, Lady Maria." Almardo continued, ignoring the guffaw, " I must ask you again not to rush off without letting one of the guards know or around to escort you personally. We can not predict the dangers in an unknown territory."

" Yes, of course." Maria replied sweetly, arms clasped in front, and eyes directed downwards demurely.

Almardo twitched, but then controlled himself. Hikaru hid his snickers behind his hand. The young pro coughed as he felt the glare directed at him out of the corner of the bodyguard's eyes as he continued to laugh softly.

" Lady Maria." The man started once more stiffly.

" Did you bring him?" Maria interrupted. " You didn't leave him behind with the others did you? Hikaru's here, but then we're going for ramen," Hikaru beamed and she ignored Almardo's jerk at the mention of the unhealthy choice, " so we should introduce them before we go for food."

Almardo sighed, but then turned to his left, the direction where he had come from. " I see him coming now. Just by the trees there, he followed me pretty well."

Maria stopped herself from twitching; she did not need him recruiting and training another guard for her. She would need to end that notion quickly, if the sound of Almardo's musing was anything to go by.

" Great!" Maria said, spinning to face Hikaru again. " You can meet my beautiful stranger and tell me what you think. I found him on the outskirts of my beach and he insisted that he knew you."

Hikaru drew his brows in confusion. Someone who insisted that they knew him? He hadn't met any foreigners in years except for Maria and those back in elementary school.

" And Go. And some dude named Touya. And a guy called Meijin. And a Waya..." She paused to think for a moment. " And what was the other ones..."

He rolled his eyes. Obviously the man was a Go enthusiast and he remembered some of the Go Pros. " Who...?" He asked, when Maria turned to smile entreatingly to someone coming up the walkway.

" There you are!" She called out, waving for the person to come closer. " Look who I found! Tell me if this is the one, or if I'm totally confused over someone else!"

Hikaru turned to face the stranger but also internally sarcastically thanked Maria for referring to him almost like a piece of discarded object, saw who was approaching, and all thought processes stopped.

He looked different than the last time he saw him, but that might because of the blue jeans, white t-shirt, running shoes, and the hair tie that pulled his long hair back at his nape. Clear amethyst-blue eyes stared cheerfully out at Almardo, Maria, and meet in abrupt amazement to shocked emeralds that engulfed the whole world.

The smile that was there slowly faded from the beautiful face as the eyes stared straight into Hikaru's heart with a deep desperation, like they would never let go again.

" Sai." Hikaru breathed.

" Hikaru." The other man whispered.

_. : come back :. _


End file.
